The
Competition and Markets Authority has issued a statement of objections alleging
that Concordia and Actavis UK entered into anti-competitive agreements whereby
Actavis UK incentivised Concordia not to enter the market with its own version
of hydrocortisone tablets. The statement of objections finds that between
January 2013 and June 2016 the companies infringed Chapter I of the UK
Competition Act 1998/ Article 101 TFEU and that Actavis UK abused its dominant position
contrary to Chapter II/ Article 102 TFEU.
The
statement of objections is also addressed to Cinven, the ultimate parent
company of Concordia and to Allergan plc which the CMA provisionally considers is
jointly and severally liable as the ultimate parent company of Actavis UK and which
formed part of the Actavis UK undertaking for a part of the relevant period.
The
pharmaceutical sector remains a focus for the CMA’s antitrust enforcement. The statement of objections is separate from
another investigation where the CMA is alleging that Actavis UK infringed UK
competition law by charging excessive prices to the NHS for hydrocortisone
tablets.
The
CMA has also fined a number of pharmaceutical companies including
GlaxoSmithKline a total of £45 million for anti-competitive agreements and practices
in relation to the anti-depressant drug paroxetine.
Source:
CMA press release 3 March 2017
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